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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
Read Harder Challenge 2022: Read a “Best _ Writing of the year” book for a topic and year of your choice.
Mala suerte, Green Eyed Monster, SWAJ, Potato Sandwich Days, Slow Burner, Wings Beating, One Bullet One Vote, Let Her Be
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I wanted to see how other folks were writing their short mysteries, so I checked this book and the one from 2017 out of the library. In the intro, Cha mentions a move toward more diverse entrants. Thank goodness based on some of the stories from the 2017 version.
Anyhoo, my first observation is that modern mystery/suspense looks quite different from some of the older stories I've read. Sometimes I feel there's neither mystery nor suspense, but I've always been an old soul.
Here were some of my favorites:
Male Suerte by E. Gabriel Flores --nice twists and plenty of mystery
The Good Thief by Ravi Howard --reminded me of O.Henry for some reason
Slow Burner by Laura Lipman -- really kept my attention
One Bullet One Vote by Faye Snowden --one of the stories that saddened me because, well, truth, but Willie Mae is one helluva character
Let Her Be by Lisa Unger -- chilling
Some of the stories felt more like horror (Mr. Forble) and others left me shaking my head. No clue if this deep dive will ever help my verbose ass write a successful short story, though.
Anyhoo, my first observation is that modern mystery/suspense looks quite different from some of the older stories I've read. Sometimes I feel there's neither mystery nor suspense, but I've always been an old soul.
Here were some of my favorites:
Male Suerte by E. Gabriel Flores --nice twists and plenty of mystery
The Good Thief by Ravi Howard --reminded me of O.Henry for some reason
Slow Burner by Laura Lipman -- really kept my attention
One Bullet One Vote by Faye Snowden --one of the stories that saddened me because, well, truth, but Willie Mae is one helluva character
Let Her Be by Lisa Unger -- chilling
Some of the stories felt more like horror (Mr. Forble) and others left me shaking my head. No clue if this deep dive will ever help my verbose ass write a successful short story, though.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This wasn’t my favorite Best American Mystery collection ever, but there were some great stories that I really enjoyed. My faves were Slow Burner by Laura Lippman, Infinity Sky by Kristen Lepionka (she’s a fave-fave always), Mala Suerte by E. Gabriel Flores, and Let Her Be by Lisa Unger.
I love these anthologies because reading short stories by authors I already know and love is super fun, and I always find new authors to read.
My favorite line in the whole book was from Mala Suerte:
“It doesn’t get much worse than being killed and made into a windbreaker.”
Correct. Also, hilarious.
Two other faves:
• From Slow Burner by Laura Lippman:
“She also knows the old saying that cautions men to remember, whenever they meet a beautiful woman, that somewhere, someone is tired of her.”
• From Infinity Sky by Kristen Lepionka:
“Now the Speed Dragons were heading her way. Jeramey didn’t need to meet them in order to distill this band down into their essence: there would be a Brad among them, and a Wesley or a Corbin, a weekday-afternoon radio DJ, and an ad agency project manager. The quiet-looking one in the fedora would be the only real musician of the group but he would avoid any kind of direct attention, terrified that someone would discover his terrible secret — bald at age twenty-eight.”
* thanks to Mariner Books for the NetGalley ARC. This is out now!
I love these anthologies because reading short stories by authors I already know and love is super fun, and I always find new authors to read.
My favorite line in the whole book was from Mala Suerte:
“It doesn’t get much worse than being killed and made into a windbreaker.”
Correct. Also, hilarious.
Two other faves:
• From Slow Burner by Laura Lippman:
“She also knows the old saying that cautions men to remember, whenever they meet a beautiful woman, that somewhere, someone is tired of her.”
• From Infinity Sky by Kristen Lepionka:
“Now the Speed Dragons were heading her way. Jeramey didn’t need to meet them in order to distill this band down into their essence: there would be a Brad among them, and a Wesley or a Corbin, a weekday-afternoon radio DJ, and an ad agency project manager. The quiet-looking one in the fedora would be the only real musician of the group but he would avoid any kind of direct attention, terrified that someone would discover his terrible secret — bald at age twenty-eight.”
* thanks to Mariner Books for the NetGalley ARC. This is out now!
The Best American Mystery and Suspense is a striking anthology of short stories, not developed around a theme, but pulled from the pages of literary magazines and other anthologies to reflect the best of the year. Steph Cha along with guest editor, Alafair Burke, certainly hit the mark with their first effort in the series. The stories selected show America at a critical time, when discussions of race, ethnicity, gender, orientation, and COVID are at the forefront of the mind, and the writers represented in these pages are able to deftly address these issues.
Gabino Iglesias’ “Everything is Going to Be Okay” hits close to the bone of the current climate, pitting those in the clutches of a failing health care system against the deadly coronavirus, showing what desperate people will do when backed into a corner. “Slow Burner” by Laura Lippman is deliciously suspenseful, building to a perfect crescendo, which seems next to impossible to do in short form. Alex Segura and Alison Gaylin will break your heart in a thousand different places with their offerings “90 Miles,” which navigates the expanse from Cuba to Key West, and “Where I belong,” addressing homelessness and mental health. Save Kristen Lepionka’s “Infinity Sky” for last if you’re hoping to end on a more humorously suspenseful note. Lepionka threads the needle between suspense and slap stick, highlighting one fateful night in the life of a former rock star.
These are just a few of the highlights that wait in the pages of The Best American Mystery and Suspense. Big thank you to the editors, the authors, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and #NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for my review.
Gabino Iglesias’ “Everything is Going to Be Okay” hits close to the bone of the current climate, pitting those in the clutches of a failing health care system against the deadly coronavirus, showing what desperate people will do when backed into a corner. “Slow Burner” by Laura Lippman is deliciously suspenseful, building to a perfect crescendo, which seems next to impossible to do in short form. Alex Segura and Alison Gaylin will break your heart in a thousand different places with their offerings “90 Miles,” which navigates the expanse from Cuba to Key West, and “Where I belong,” addressing homelessness and mental health. Save Kristen Lepionka’s “Infinity Sky” for last if you’re hoping to end on a more humorously suspenseful note. Lepionka threads the needle between suspense and slap stick, highlighting one fateful night in the life of a former rock star.
These are just a few of the highlights that wait in the pages of The Best American Mystery and Suspense. Big thank you to the editors, the authors, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and #NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for my review.
It’s hard to review a book of short stories but there were definitely some good ones in here!in general, short stories aren’t my favorite because my least favorite part of a book is getting acclimated at the beginning and in a short story, the payoff for that is just so much smaller, which is why this took me six months to read. But there were definitely some winners and I really loved the final story!
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
2 stars for complete failure to include mysteries or thrillers in a “best of mystery and thriller” book.
I really wanted to like this, I was excited to read that there is a new editor for this project. But it just felt flat for me. I’m not sure if it was the short story format or that the selected stories just didn’t work for me. More often than not a new story would start and I was thinking “wait, where was the mystery or thrill, how is the story over”. I enjoyed the story of the shark but spent most of the time wondering what the mystery was. I also thought the story on social media and suicide was was written. Other than that most of the rest of stories left me feeling very meh.
I really wanted to like this, I was excited to read that there is a new editor for this project. But it just felt flat for me. I’m not sure if it was the short story format or that the selected stories just didn’t work for me. More often than not a new story would start and I was thinking “wait, where was the mystery or thrill, how is the story over”. I enjoyed the story of the shark but spent most of the time wondering what the mystery was. I also thought the story on social media and suicide was was written. Other than that most of the rest of stories left me feeling very meh.